Two Venezuelan Refugees Warn American College Students
About the Danger of Socialism, Posted by Zachary Mettler | Feb 18, 2020
As the
race for the 2020 presidential election heats up, the debate over the merits of
socialism is getting more and more attention. Some candidates are openly
running on a socialist platform advocating for higher taxes and public
ownership of utilities.
These
positions are receiving ample support from younger generations. According to
a recent poll, 36% of millennials support communism and
Marxism, and 22% support the abolition of all private property.
Due to
this increasing fascination with the ideology, two college students who fled
the failing socialist Venezuelan state are now travelling across the United
States to speak on college campuses and warn students about the danger of
socialism.
Jorge
Galicia and Andres Guilarte witnessed the destruction that socialism brought to
their country. Both are now political activists and are warning students around
the United States that socialism may not be all that it’s chalked up to be.
In an interview with The College Fix, Guilarte warned,
“We are eyewitnesses of the falling of the country. We are telling them we used
to have rights like you have here. You can go to the supermarket, buy
everything, you can have money for the month. We used to be just like everybody
else. But now [in Venezuela] we’ve ended up at the bottom of every single
economic index you can find. You don’t have to take for granted your liberties
— and you don’t have to wait until you lose them to fight for them.”
In a
similar way, Galicia said, “Who in the world wouldn’t want to have free health
care, free college tuition, free whatever — the thing is those kinds of offers
are not sustainable in the long-term. I know it is tempting, but do not fall
into that trap. You need to learn from other people’s experience. Keep your
liberty protected, because what you have, it’s a beautiful country.”
Their
speaking project is funded by The Fund for American Studies with the
title “Venezuela: My Story… Your Future?”
The
United Socialist Party of Venezuela (USPV) has maintained power in Venezuela since 1999 when
Hugo Chavez was elected president. Upon the death of Chavez in 2013, Nicolas
Maduro succeeded him, and the country has since collapsed. According to
reports, 4.5 million people have fled the country, and food and basic supplies
are extremely scarce.
The
rate of hyperinflation in the Venezuelan currency has soared by 10 million percent and the
economy was forecast to shrink by 35% in 2019 alone. The economy has shrunk by
65% since the beginning of the crisis in 2013, leading to one of the worst
five-year contractions in the past half century, according to CNBC.
“It is
important to teach young audiences; they are the most vulnerable audience when
it comes to being engaged with socialist ideas,” Galicia said.
Millennials
are now the largest voting block in the United States, and it’s important to
educate each new generation about the destruction that socialism can
bring.
In 1971, Venezuela nationalized its natural gas
industry, and began taking
steps to nationalize its oil industry. The oil industry was officially nationalized in 1976. At
that time, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA)
was formed.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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